Ross man
I don't know who you are, but you just MADE MY DAY!!!
That is AMAZING!! Everyone, go here and click on ross man's name. You will die laughing. I did.

1. Do you still have tonsils?
Yes.
2. Would you bungee jump?
No way!! Heights are one of my biggest fears!

3. If you could do anything in the world for a living, what would you do?
Nursing.

4. How many tattoos do you have?
None.

5. Your favorite fictional animal?
The liger. Not really, I just couldn't come up with anything better.

6. One person that never fails to make you laugh?
My Niece

7. Do you consider yourself organized?
Depends on the situation. For the most part, yes.
8. Any addictions?
Chocolate and certain TV shows.

9 From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news?
Ummmm....you mean there are things going on outside my college? Really? There are things going on outside this bubble?
One in a great while, I turn on the news on TV, but usually I don't get my news from anywhere! Sad, but true.
10. Would you rather go to a carnival or circus?
A Carnival.

11. When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you
grew up?
A doctor, and EMT or a teacher

12. Best movie you've seen this year?
Chronicles of Narnia (that was less than a year ago, right?)

13. Favorite alcoholic drink.
Not 21. :-)
14. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Shut off my alarm clock and check my bg.

15. Siblings?
2 older brothers, both married

16. What is the best thing about your job?
I can often do homework and get paid for it. :-)

17. Have you ever gone to therapy?
Nope

18. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Right now, I want to be able to change the weather. Right now, its SNOWING!!!! IT"S OCTOBER!!!
19. Do you own any furniture from Ikea?
YES! I LOVE Ikea!! My futon in my dorm room, and my desk at home are both from there, plus a bunch of little stuff.

20. Have you ever gone camping?
Every fall with the fam!

21. Gas prices - first thought
Not as bad as they have been.

22. Your favorite cartoon character?
The baby from the Incredibles. Watch Jack-Jack attack. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life. I've baby sat kids like that!

23. What was your first car?
A 1986 Buick Park Avenue. Now remember, I was BORN in 1986. This car was OLDER than I was.

24. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No.

25. The Cosby Show or The Simpsons?
Hmmmm. Depends on my mood. I used to love the cosby show, but I don't know when its on anymore.


26. Do you go to church?
I try and go every week, but sometimes sleep overpowers it. I do try and go to chapel 2-3 times a week though, and that is kind of like church.

27. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
The adult side of me says Pres. Bush, the teenage side of me says some of the stars from Grey's Anatomy.

28. What errand/chore do you despise?
Washing dishes

29. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! NOT YET!!!

30 Last time you puked from drinking?
Never. (see #13. I'm a goody-good. What can I say)

31. What is your heritage?
Dutch
32. Favorite flower?
Gerber Daisy

33. Disney or Warner Bros?
Disney

34. What is your best childhood memory?
Camping, and hiking with my family.

35. Your favorite potato chip?
Baked Lays

36. What is your favorite candy?
Kit Kat

37. Do you burn or tan?
Tan
38. Astrological sign?
Capricorn.

39. Do you own a gun?
No. But I love to target practice!

40. What do you think of hot dogs?
Really good grilled.

I lied.







*Update*
I found out the pharmacy was just billing insurance #2, not #1. That is what got us stuck with bills the last time, because #2 is not supposed to be paying for everything. When we tried to get #1 to pay, they will only give me limited amounts. Everyone in the world seems to think 200 strips is SOO MANY!! Why in the world would I need to test more than 4 times a day????? So now I'm in the process of appealing that amount. Not a HUGE deal, just another annoyance that I thought was all taken care of!

Because I am a 5 year kid inside, and I'm easily entertained

Blogger's spell check cracks me up. So I decided to make a list of diabetic words and see what it does to them. The list on the left will be what I typed, and the list on the right will be what blogger says it should be.

Quick-set Suicide
Insulin no suggestions
Humalog homology
Novolog navels
Lanclet loincloth
Cozmo cozen
Mimimed manumit
Animas anions
Islet Islet
A1c AAA
Lantus lunatic
Levemir no suggestions
Ketones Kittens
JDRF nothing
Ketoacidosis nothing
Cleo clew
Minimed (the right way) minuend
Lancet(The right way) Lancet
This is what happens on too little sleep!!

That's all for now. If you have any additions, and want to join the fun, let me know!

October 3, 1988

18 years ago, I was in the hospital. I have no memories of this monumental time of my life. I've seen pictures. I look like a orphan child from a third world country, but surrounded by stuffed animals, balloons and family.
18 years is a very long time. A lifetime in fact. Like Allison said, now my diabetes can vote. Hurray? Maybe. I am 18 years complication free. I don't really consider that an accomplishment. I'm only 19 years old for crying out loud! I shouldn't have any complications.
This day doesn't seem any different to me. I don't know if it should.
In general, I am really freaking sick of all the crap. For years and years, it never bothered me.
But lately?
Man.
Site rashes
Painful sites
Ball in my stomach crappy highs
Stuff my face and never come up lows.
A few weeks ago, for the first time I can ever remember, I could actually picture a cure. For ME. When that story about the cure for kids diagnosed before 6 months came out, my heart skipped beat. I quickly did the mental math, to see if it was even possible that I had diabetes at 6 months, and went undiagnosed. I pictured what it would be like to be FREE. I was quickly disappointed. The difference between 6 months and 22 months is just too much. Too much to research further. I was disappointed. Maybe that's why it is all bothering me so much lately. Or maybe it's the transition to school. Once again, I have to explain the ins and outs to my roommates. They are really nice about it. They WANT to know, but once I start to explain, I realize just how much there is. From the little things from what my blood sugar should be, to why I need to change my site, what ketones are and why in the world I went off my pump. It's just so much!
I know I'm pretty much the youngest blogger in the OC. I'm too dang young to have been dealing with this more 18 years.
So happy anniversary to me. Maybe I'll go to Dairy Queen or something tonight, or maybe I'll just ignore the day.

Two Questions

I have two new requests for the OC. One is a serious one, the other is not.
First:
My new blue pump remains nameless. Anyone have any suggestions for him(or her?)?

Second:
I have developed a nice, itchy reaction to my quicksets. Every site itches while it is on, and when I take it off there is a series of red, raised bumps where the site was. What can I do about it? Now before you answer this, keep in mind I have the same reaction for IV3000 and Tegaderm. Does anyone know of any other products? This is a recurring problem. I get these rashes for a few months, and then they go away. But then have never been this bad before. This goes to show that even after 7ish years pumping, I still do not know everything. I'm still learning!
Any and All suggestions welcome!

*Update*
I screwed my pump last night, at about 2am. I was really high, and really angry and sick of dealing with all the crap, so I gave a shot of Levemir, and pulled out the pump site. I've been on shots since then. I called MM to see if they had any suggestions, and they were shockingly helpful. (I have had some horrible Minimed experiences) They are overnighting me some different tape samples, and some sets in case the ones I have are defective. The Minimed I knew NEVER volunteered that it might be there fault! I'm shocked! I still appreciate any suggestions you guys have!

Did you know?

Did you know, that it is extremely helpful to put insulin in the cartridge when doing a site change? That air will not prime the tubing?
This is a lesson I learned at 2am last night.

On a lighter note...

I got three exams back today.
All I can say it, FINALLY all of my hard work is starting to pay off.
physiology: The hardest of all my classes, in which most people want to die: I got 93%!!!!!!!!!! Words can not express how happy this makes me.
Sociology: I didn't study too much for this, because it was the day after Phys, and I just didn't care anymore: 88%
Psychology: 92%. Only 2 people in all of my professors classes did better than I did. I rock.
That is the bulletin of the day.
More doom and gloom tomorrow. :-)

A very long rant.

I had such a bad week last week. If something could go wrong diabetes wise, it did.
Last Friday, I had a bad site. I ended up skipping a class because I felt so horrible. My highs don't usually affect me as badly as they did that day. I couldn't eat most of the day because of horrible ketones, so it was almost 2pm before I ate anything. That started me down a vicious cycle. I couldn't eat because I didn't feel good, so I started getting starvation ketones, which made me feel worse, which makes me not want to eat...... I finally forced down some applesauce just to get some carbs and more insulin into my system.
I had the weekend to recover.
Monday morning. I wake up having to go to the bathroom SOO bad. While I'm in the bathroom, my pump starts to SIREN. I don't know if anyone has ever heard the Cozmo siren, but its loud. Sadly, my roommate wasn't up before then, but she certainly was after! The screen said that the battery was dead. There was no low battery alarm, and I had changed it last week. Of course, I was out of new batteries. I took the old battery out so the thing would SHUT UP, threw some clothes on, and went to the bookstore to get more batteries. After I put them into the pump, it seemed to work OK, but this was the second time this had happened to that pump. I was not letting it go. I called Deltec and got the nicest woman. She agreed I needed a whole new pump. When she asked what color I had, I told her gray but then asked if I could have another color. I had to quickly make up my mine. I said blue on an impulse. After checking to make sure they had new blue pumps (she didn't want me to have a refurbished one) she said I could have it!! That made me really happy!!! No more boring gray! After I got my old pump working, I checked myself. I'm high, of course. I debated whether to go on shots or not. I decided I didn't really need to. I gave the bolus. Halfway through I got my favorite (sarcasm) alarm. Blockage Detected!! Oh joy! On top of everything else, I got to do a site change too!
Tuesday: New pump arrives. Not a major deal, I just had to take the time to program it. But that too takes time, time that I did not really have.
Wednesday: While sleeping, I started having the strangest dream. In it, I was rushing trying to get ready, and my pump just wouldn't stop beeping or vibrating, no matter what I did! Finally, I woke up to another blockage. Grrr. Another site change! As if waking up over 300 or 400 twice in the past week wasn't enough!
Thursday night: I woke up feeling low. I was 40. I don't know if it was because I was so tired, or so low, but I couldn't stay awake. I kept falling asleep while I was eating. All of my food is right next to my bed, so I don't have to get out of bed when I'm low. I must have had 3 or 4 granola bars, a couple of packages of fruit snacks and a bottle of juice. When I woke up the next morning, I was only 294. With that many carbs, I should have been much, much higher. It was a scary experience, one I don't want to repeat.
Last night: Check at 11:30, 383. Crap. Bolus the correction. Check an hour later. 150. CRAP!!!! Now I want to come down fast as much as the next diabetic, but I had lots and lots of IOB. I did not know what to do. I finally decided to shut my basal off for 3 hours, and to set my alarm for an hour later. For once in my life, I made the right decision. I went up to 160, and never dropped below that.
So that is a synopsis of all the crap that has been going on lately. Surprisingly, I didn't want to get rid of my pump. I just didn't want to be diabetic anymore! I am so sick of all the crap!

October 1st.

Does that date mean anything to you?

Probably not.

But it means a heck of a lot to me.

October 1st is the date my application for the nursing department is due. Just sitting here typing about it is clenching my stomach into knots. I know that I will spend the next few months worrying. November 6th is when registration for classes begin, so I will know by then.

I am so dang nervous, I can't even think about working on my homework right now. Homework that is so important. It is important, so that I can learn the material and do well in my classes. If I do well in my classes, I might get into the nursing program. But I am so worried about getting into the nursing program, that I can't do my homework. I'm in a little bit of a pickle.

UGH! Do you know how much this stinks? I KNOW what I want to do for the rest of my life. I am very blessed for that reason. What stinks is that I CAN'T DO IT! I have been amazed at the number of people the last 5-6 months, that have told me, not knowing my dreams, that I should be a nurse. The only people that don't seem to think I'm good enough are the only people that really matter: the nursing board.

I could really use some thoughts and prayers. Starting October 1st (and probably before) I'm going to be a nervous wreck. If I don't get into the program this time, I have some major, major life decisions to make, and they are not going to be easy or pleasant.

Life has been so crazy lately. I moved back to school a couple of weeks ago, and the transition has been harder than I thought it would be. On top of that (or maybe because of that) my blood sugars have been terrible. One of these days I'll get around to writing them all down and trying to figure out if there is any real trend.
In the mean time, I'm doing my best to make sure everyone in my classes think I'm a drug addict.
The other day I had a bad site, and flew up to 450. Sadly, this was during the middle of class. I wrote on a page in my notebook "I'm really high!" I showed it to my friend before I left class to change my site. That page was the same one I wrote out my part of a group presentation. At the next class, I gave my notebook to another group member to read over. When she handed it back, she gave me kind of a weird look, but didn't say anything. It wasn't until later that I realized what was written on the notebook, and why she gave me a weird look.
Case #2. Physiology class. I was digging around in my backpack before class, trying to find a pen. I felt something thin and round. I pulled it out. Nope! It wasn't a pen, it was a syringe. Whoops. No idea how many people saw in that class, but it gave me a good laugh.
In other news, the JDRF walk is going well. People who have never donated before are giving large amounts, like $100. The bad news, people who usually donate haven't gotten back to me. People like my brothers. That is always a sticky situation. I would like them to donate. In the past they've donated. But, what it they don't want to this year? I don't want to bug them about it, and make them feel pressured. Hopefully they people will start sending in their checks so I don't have to make those awkward phone calls.
Back to the never ending world of homework!

**A HUGE thank you to Tiffany at the Diabetes OC, and Candid Diabetes for fixing my Diabetes OC Navigation Bar. It works!**

In what kind of f-ing world does my blood sugar RISE 200 points after exercise????
There was no rebound.
Grrr.
*More later, just a quick rant before I go to bed.*

JDRF walk

I need some help creating a letter to send to my relatives to raise money for the JDRF walk. Can you all give me some input?

Dear
October 3, 1988.
That date was my Grandpa and Grandma Root’s wedding anniversary. It is also the date I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. That was 18 years ago. Today, my pancreas still does not produce insulin. Until a cure is found, I will wear my insulin pump 24 hours a day. To make sure I’m getting the right amount of insulin, I have to check my blood sugar six to ten times a day. Insulin keeps me alive, plain and simple. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for me and the 3 million other people with type one diabetes. That’s why I will be walking on September 16 at Holland State Park for the tenth year. A cure is out there, and JDRF will find it!
Will you consider helping them make my dream of a cure come true?
Thank you for your continued support!

To donate online, or by credit card, please visit:
www.tiny.cc/jgrasman



It needs some help, and I know it, but what does it need?

Tiny Bubbles...

Since the OC so accurately predicted that I was going to be sick (and I was) I have another problem.
What is it?
Bubbles.
Lots and lots of bubbles.
Unlike the song, these bubbles are not making me feel happy or feel fine.
They are in the cartridge. In the tubing. They are killing me. This has never been a problem before. Now all of a sudden, when I fill the cartridge, there are foamy bubbles. When I change my site, there are huge bubbles. Once in a while, I notice bubbles in the tubing. Long ones. Several units long. It takes a lot of insulin to get rid of them.
So, I'm coming to the experts. How do you prevent bubbles? How do you get rid of them? Should I be pulling the cartridge out daily to check for them?
Thanks!

There is a special guessing game I play a couple of times a year.
It centers around one question.
Am I high because I'm sick, or am I sick because I'm high?
I am going through that debate right now. I have been in the 200's for the past couple of days, and now in the 300's. I've changed my site, and I will change it again tonight. I have a sore throat, confusion and fatigue. All could mean my sugar is high. All could also mean I am getting sick. So how do I find out? Anyone have any good ideas, or is time the only remedy?

~Camp synopsis coming soon.
~T minus 18 days until I move back to school

IT'S OVER

I have 300 beautiful, fully paid for freestyle flash test strips sitting in my supply tub. I also have 6 vials of humalog insulin sitting in my fridge. Also, completely paid for. And not by me. BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY!!!
THE FIRST TIME!!! HURRAY!! IT"S OVER!!!

Camp

It's that time again! Camp time!
I first went to Camp MIDICHA 10 years ago.
It was the first time I truly realized that there were other diabetics in the world. Not just other adults, like my grandpa, but other kids! It was the first time I realized that I wasn't the only one who had vision changes with blood sugar changes. I wasn't the only one!
I went to midicha as a camper for 7 years, then became a CIT (counselor in training) and then a counselor. I wanted to be like all of the great counselors I had over the years.
I was sorely disappointed. My very first session, there were 4 other counselors in one cabin. Not fun. We stepped on each others toes all the time. The campers quickly learned that if one of us said no, they should just go to another one. It took us a while to get our act together. The second session of that year was even worse. I only had one co-counselor, like normal. Her name was Lisa and she was from Spain. Lisa seemed nice enough at first. Then she started disappearing. At first she said she had to have allergy shots. Every day. Riiight. Then, those half hour disappearance became several hours. Then she started telling me I was doing all the diabetes care wrong. There was no need to check campers again 15 minutes after they were low. It didn't really matter if we checked them at midnight or 4am. It was the same thing. The worst part is, I could get her in trouble because she was dating the head counselor.
The second year, I had high hopes. I walked into my cabin to meet my co-counselor. The first thing she tells me? She's usually a ranch staffer, so she's not used to being around the kids 24/7, and she's not happy about it. Great.....
So this year, I decided I wasn't going to work at camp. The plan was to get a summer job, and then I wouldn't have time for camp. I would plan a weekend to get together with my camp friends. However, the current job market and my friends did not cooperate. I did not land a job, and one of my friends still wanted to go to camp. So. Off to camp I go. Other than the bad co-counselors, camp has been pretty fun. If I get a good one this year, I'll go again next year. If not, then I don't know.

Rest In Peace Toby

This morning, my faithful friend of only 3 years died.
He was one of the best trained and loveable pets I have ever had. Toby will be greatly missed.

un-motivated

I am completely NOT motivated in my diabetes care lately. I went to the endo's office a few weeks ago. My A1c was good (7.2) but I needed to do more work. I was having frequent lows. Now, I'm having frequent highs. Crappy, sick to my stomach, drink tons of water, highs. I really, really need to start logging again, and even more importantly, do some basal testing. I hate testing basals. Breakfast skips are really easy. Lunch and supper? Not so much. I THINK about doing it all the time, but it is so easy to come up with excuses not to actually stop eating, test every hour and write it down. Why is it so dang difficult???

Cross your fingers.
Rub your lucky rabbits foot.
PRAY!
The insurance fiasco may be solved. We are in the process of transferring from tradition BCBS to point of service. The very helpful and friendly man at Blue Cross promises we won't be sorry. I plan on holding him to that.
Now, the major hurtles include:
Actually getting all the paperwork filled out and to the correct people.
Making sure they cover everything like they said they would
Seeing if they cover my endo (oh please Lord I hope so!)
Seeing if insurance #1 and #2 play well with each other
Finding out if there is a pharmacy in my area that will take this (#*%& insurance.

This new insurance seems too good to be true. It promises a $10 co-pay on all prescriptions. No limits on insulin or test strips. Any pharmacy I choose. Could it really be true???
I'll find out later this week!